Mare Island (Confessions of a Wasteland Pony)
Mare Island is a location in the audio drama series Confessions of a Wasteland Pony. It is the main setting of the fourth episode, The Engineer. History & EAST Corp Historically, Mare Island was thought to simply be a recreational retreat for those passing through the area along the large river it was situated in. Legend has it the name "Mare Island" originates from it being the place where enterprising lovers would bring their lady friends. That would change long before the Great War, however. The location on the large river made it too advantageous of a location to use as a port for trading goods with passing ferries. Textile mills and other industries rose and fell on the island until it eventually came into the possession of Harvest Orange. The young CEO was in the process of turning his family's humble "Orange AeroGyros" business into a technology conglomerate. The island was already full of industrial use buildings, it would only take a few months to modernize them and begin production again. Large open fields on the South side of the island were perfect for new airship construction and maintenance buildings. In a short time, Mare Island became the flagship production facility for the Equestrian Arcane Systems & Technologies Corporation. While many subsidiary corporations operated elsewhere, such as the Ivory Laboratories Headquarters remaining in Heartfield, many EAST Corp creations had their primary production lines moved to the island. Sentineldroid production in particular was done exclusively in the main tower building. While there were many benefits to the centralization, Harvest Orange also feared for its security, and so a number of safety measures were put in place. A 70 foot tall defensive wall was erected around the entire perimeter of the island, with large laser batteries lined along the top. A bubble shield could be emitted from the main tower building, but it had an unstable power supply. The most important defensive elements were three Magically-Accelerated Regional Support Guns placed around the main tower, designed primarily to intercept megaspell missiles or any other incoming enemy forces. The main tower building has a large transmitter on top, but its range is limited, and must have its signal re-transmitted from other towers or devices. Sentineldroids in particular can expand the range to a much further distance with overlapping signal nodes. One of the last technologies to originate from the facility were the Blue Moon-class stealth bombers. Four of the large war balloons would be produced in the final months of the war: The R.E.S. Blue Moon, R.E.S. Daybreak, R.E.S. Moonrise, ''& ''R.E.S. New Horizon. An intense battle in the Northern Crystal Commonwealth severely damaged the R.E.S. Blue Moon ''& ''R.E.S. New Horizon, ''almost costing the life of Captain Frozen Peaks of the ''Blue Moon. ''Both ships were brought back to Mare Island. The ''Blue Moon suffered much worse destruction, and so its parts were salvaged to repair the New Horizon. Unfortunately, repairs could not be completed before the bombs fell. On The Last Day of the Great War, a cascade of events took place which brought down the whole facility. The sentineldroids stationed around the island protecting the workers suddenly turned on them and began slaughtering the creatures without hesitation. The MARS Guns successfully intercepted all megaspells and airborne enemies that approached it, but the surrounding area was devastated by the fallout from the weapons on both sides. The bubble shield protecting the island from contaminated air failed not long after the bombs went silent, taking down the reactors in the process. The reactors would not be restarted again for nearly two centuries. An auxiliary hydroelectric and geothermal system spread below the river powered most of the island's subsystems, but the bubble shield, wall batteries, and MARS Guns were offline due to the high energy demand they required. Mare Island would remain like this for over 175 years, until a group of escaped slaves from the Oasis Slaver Settlement would discover the facility. Two technologically capable unicorns in their group, Sparky & Amber Glow, would be able to take control of most of the island's systems. Decades later, their daughter Amber Horn would be the one to restart the reactors and crack the final Executive encryption. She would pass control of the island over to her Aunt Abalone before leaving on her own. With all of its foundries restarted, an endless supply of sentineldroids it can produce, and the fearsome MARS Guns to protect it, Mare Island is an unparalleled location for anyone who controls it. Notable Residents * Ultramarine * Amber Glow * Sparky * Amber Horn * Abalone Behind The Scenes * Mare Island is based heavily on the U.S. Navy's Mare Island Naval Shipyard in the San Francisco Bay. While closed in the 1990's, much of the setting and plot of "The Engineer" were inspired by SkyBolt's time working as a mechanical engineer at the similar Norfolk Naval Shipyard. * The geography of the setting of Mare Island however, is inspired by the U.S. Army's Rock Island Arsenal. The island, located in the Mississippi River, serves many major functions in manufacturing ordnance and artillery guns. * EAST Corp's Mare Island is essentially a fictional combination of both. Category:EAST Corp Productions Category:Locations (Confessions of a Wasteland Pony) Category:Confessions of a Wasteland Pony